


Times New Romance? More like Hellvetica

by handthigh



Category: 19天 - Old先 | 19 Days - Old Xian
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Office, Denial of Feelings, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, Fluff, M/M, Pining, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Workplace Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:54:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26545585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/handthigh/pseuds/handthigh
Summary: Despite working for 3 months, fresh university graduate Mo Guan Shan is certain and content with the idea of never forming any deep friendship with his colleagues, or better yet, not getting into a romantic relationship with any of them. Keeping work and personal life separate, just the way he likes it.Unfortunately for him, his handsome and popular cubicle partner is not going to make it that easy for him to achieve his quest.
Relationships: He Tian & Mo Guanshan (19 Days), He Tian/Mo Guanshan (19 Days)
Comments: 48
Kudos: 257





	1. Overtime? No I'm over it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thanks to my online mutuals and people at [Tianshan discord](https://discord.com/invite/Q8a2RRd) for taking a read and giving me the feedback. This one-shot is also available on [my Tumblr](https://handthigh.tumblr.com/post/629606956063227904/soooo-i-may-or-may-not-have-gone-crazy-and-gone), with more detailed notes at the end of the fic.
> 
> P.S.: I was mostly a lurker on AO3 before jumping the gun and registering. If I got any formatting error, do bear with me!

**He Tian (Work):**

_Little Mo, pass me a stapler (6:35pm)_

Frowning at the message notification, Mo Guan Shan wordlessly takes the stapler lying on his desk and wheels his chair out of his cubicle to pass to his next door neighbour who grins upon receiving the stationery from the redhead. The reciprocity is not returned however, as Guan Shan wheels back into his cubicle to complete a report the supervisor had dumped onto him 15 minutes before the time he ends work. It is already bad enough that he is working overtime on a Friday while being the only one stuck with He Tian, the last thing he needs is for the annoying colleague to interrupt his progress.

The report turns out even more taxing than expected, further souring Guan Shan’s mood. He glanced at the time displayed on the laptop, _“6:55pm”_. Great, the report’s barely done and closing time sale at the nearby sandwich shop is already over. _So much for a “quick task”_ , he scoffs bitterly at his supervisor’s words.

As if He Tian can read his mind, comes another text:

**He Tian (Work):**

_Little Mo, are you cursing out the boss in your head again? (6:57pm)_

Damn it, not another interruption. Glancing at the new message, Guan Shan cringes at the accuracy of the guess. Guilt quickly turns into irritation however, as he glares at the cubicle separating him and the culprit of these messages. This has been going on for about 3 months now, ever since he was assigned to be seated with He Tian at the corner of the office. The reason? The supervisor claims that only the short tempered Guan Shan is immune to the raven haired’s hunky looks while workers of all genders in their department are too busy admiring He Tian to work productively. Guan Shan tries to suppress his gag upon the memory.

First of all, Guan Shan does not appreciate being called short tempered. He just has little patience and a lot of irritation for mindless small talks and forced formalities, that’s all. Second of all, seriously? Of all words, hunky? While Guan Shan admits that He Tian is a looker because after all, he has eyes; but that is certainly an exaggeration. Sure, He Tian has the physique and face for the magazine covers, but he’s not _that_ good looking. Especially not when he assigns Guan Shan that stupid nickname and constantly texts him for no justifiable reasons despite already repeating many times that he only wants to reserve the texting to a minimum and keep it strictly to work matters.

Wait, what the fuck? Why is he thinking about _him_ again? Ugh, this is why he emphasises on keeping social interactions to a minimum! The report and the constant texting must have really gotten to him, because the next thing he knew, Guan Shan picks up his phone and types at his source of annoyance.

**Me:**

_Yes, genius. Since you’re so smart and volunteered to OT with me, why don’t you make yourself useful and help me out with the report then you chicken dick! (7:05pm)_

Normally Guan Shan tries to keep his temper in check, wanting to believe he is no longer the moody middle school boy that he was. Besides, this is the first job he managed to get right after graduating university 6 months ago, just in time before the recession. Thus, he is not trying to screw up an opportunity just because he got involved in some petty office drama. However, the combination of working overtime, growing hunger and unnecessary buzzing of his phone followed by He Tian’s unnecessary messages is making Guan Shan throw both caution and formalities out the window. 

He is not the only one surprised by his own outburst however, as He Tian guffaws and rolls his chair out of the cubicle to meet the redhead, currently glaring at him and asking what’s so funny.

“Chicken dick? What kind of insult is that? Also, I dunno, I just thought you’d never asked me for help.” He Tian replies with a shrug and his signature grin.

He Tian is not wrong - Guan Shan seldom asks for help, believing that it’s better to be self-sufficient than to rely on someone else. Furthermore, it allows him to avoid having to keep up with forced interactions with others. But it’s getting late and the report doesn’t seem to be finishing soon, and there is someone in the office right now, might as well right?

“So are you going to help me or not?”

“Sure, anything for you Little Mo~”

“Stop calling me that! Give me your email, I’ll share the document with you on the cloud.”

So, here they are at 7:30pm, working in a shared online document together - cubicle to cubicle. Guan Shan mainly typing out the content of the report while He Tian formats, elaborates and adds any figures and charts where appropriate; explaining his rationale to the other while he works.

As Guan Shan sees the report transform before his very own eyes, he is now confronted with the thought he’s been trying to will away for 3 days, ever since he overheard the company executives discuss whether to promote He Tian. 

As much as he hates admitting it, He Tian _is_ talented and hardworking when situations call for it. Not only is he able to easily handle the tedious formatting that is typically required of such reports, he also goes the extra mile of further perfecting any tasks assigned to him. It also helps that he has great social networking skills to accompany his equally great looks, not only charming the other coworkers around them, but also clients and other company staff alike in network events. 

Attempting to ignore the ache of admiration growing in his chest, Guan Shan wonders why is someone as good as He Tian working at an entry level job like him in a medium sized company when the latter can easily negotiate for a much higher salary in a conglomerate. What he heard about his raven haired coworker isn’t helping much with his curiosity either.

While Guan Shan prefers minding his own business, he also doesn’t live under a rock. He has heard the rumours - that He Tian had interned for various big names while he attended an Ivy League business school and graduated a valedictorian. He was also rumoured to be taking over his family’s multinational company branch in China while his older brother gets based overseas to look over their international branches. Yet somehow, here he is, working overtime in a too small cubicle with an aloof coworker who has nothing to boast for. After all, Guan Shan’s resume mainly consists of mediocre grades in a local university that is far from being a C9 League, one proper internship experience and multiple part time odd jobs to help him pay his student loans. 

He Tian has everything going for him, and yet, _why_? Guan Shan is so lost in his own thoughts that he does not notice an arm reaching out to his laptop and folding it down, clasping his fingers that are resting motionlessly on the keyboard.

“Ouch! What the fuck?!” Guan Shan stands up and yelps in shock, spinning around to glare at the culprit. This proves to be a mistake as he realises he is face to face with He Tian, barely an inch away. 

Suddenly, the room feels hot and all Guan Shan can hear is his heart rapidly beating in his ears as he sees a totally different expression from the latter: lips twitching up, high cheekbones raised making them even more pronounced, coupled with a pair of grey eyes sparkling and curving in childish amusement. Even though he knows that He Tian is laughing at his expense, somehow, Guan Shan could not bring himself to break eye contact, wanting to look as long as possible until he commits He Tian’s genuine smile to memory.

“Earth to Little Mo, I said I was done with the report and had emailed our supervisor, and was thinking of treating you to a sandwich as a thanks for your effort.” He Tian replies, amusement laced in his voice as he breaks the silence.

“…How do you know I like…” Guan Shan dumbly replies, still feeling overwhelmed by the close contact to even retort He Tian as he feels his face getting even hotter.

Breaking eye contact, He Tian steps to the side and fishes out his car key, hooking the key ring to his finger. As much as he finds his flustered colleague both amusing and endearing, he makes sure to give Guan Shan some space in case the other gets too stunned and passes out. “Well, who else in this office eats those except for you? So what do you say, it’ll be my treat and I can drive us there.” He Tian says as he leans back on the cubicle wall, spinning the car key around.

“… Uh… mm” Guan Shan nodded, feeling too light headed to speak properly.

“Let’s go then.” He Tian steps out of the cubicle, making his way out as he turns off the office lights.

Guan Shan’s mind is reeling as he follows He Tian from behind. Why is he suddenly reacting like this? Why did he agree to have dinner with him? Most importantly, WHY IS HE SUDDENLY HAVING SUCH THOUGHTS OF THAT ANNOYING CHICKEN DICK?

God, he hates working overtime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you made it here, thanks for reading! I’ve been wanting to write a fluffier, slice of life office romance with Tianshan for quite awhile now - an AU with no mafia drama, no She Li being a creep, just coworkers dicking around and _relatively normal_ problems here and there. I only committed after getting reminded of [this official Tianshan art by Old Xian](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/447066672709500939/756126561253589022/6f016cdfly1g5rdmvbs7ej20m80m4wjc.jpg?width=599&height=596) on the discord. 
> 
> Aside from 19 days, I also draw inspiration from a webcomic called [Senpai ga Uzai, Kouhai no Hanashi](https://mangadex.org/title/23825/senpai-ga-uzai-kouhai-no-hanashi). I’m a huge sucker of slow burn fluffy Tianshan where Guan Shan is initially annoyed at He Tian and slowly and reluctantly falls for him. _Hehehehehehehehe *continues to laugh in fujoshi*_
> 
> Not going to lie, I do feel nervous posting it. However, after seeing many Tianshan fics (they are good! don’t get me wrong) that doesn’t have a workplace AU, I thought I’d manifest it onto the internet space! Do let me know what you think, as I am considering expanding this into a multichapter fic once I stop being lazy. The tags will be subjected to change as well if I do expand this!


	2. Grocery shoppain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Having run out of food, Guan Shan heads out for a grocery run, only to run into the last person he wants to see (hint: it rhymes with "she can pick"). (A/N: do look out for special cameos of your other favourite 19 days characters too! _*wink wink*_ )

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y'all! First of all, thank you for the kind comments and kudos for the previous chapter! I'm so glad to know that you guys enjoy reading this fic as much as I enjoy writing it, and even want to see more! 
> 
> I thought to write some more since I am having my one week university break now, and I will try to write some more once school reopens but the updates will not be as fast. I hope that is alright! Also, just a warning, there will be some chapter spoilers at the end note.

It is Sunday afternoon, Guan Shan notes as he sits on the beanbag chair, staring at his phone with WeChat opened in his hand. This means it has now been slightly over a day since working overtime with He Tian, since the sandwich treat, and since that jerk worms his way into his head. Attributing these intrusive thoughts to feeling guilty for not yet thanking his colleague for helping him, Guan Shan decides to send out a quick text of gratitude. 

As much as he loves his parents, damn their upstanding nature! Had they not raised him to be grateful and reciprocal when receiving help, he would not be in this predicament. The longer he stares at his phone, the more nervous he feels. Is he seriously about to break his “no casual texting” rule, especially on a chicken dick? As he imagines the disappointment in his parents’ faces upon learning that their only child has become a rude and cutthroat salaryman they fear he will be since moving to Chengdu, yes, yes he is.

**Me:**

_ Hey, sorry for the late message, I just want to thank you for Friday and the dinner. I will return the favour and treat you to something next time. (1:15pm) _

After much proofreading and editing to sound as neutral as possible, he finally sends it. Why is he even so worked up in the first place? It’s just a text! Shaking the thoughts away, he sighs in relief and sinks further into the soft chair, allowing fatigue to take over as he rests his eyes from the sleepless Saturday that was mostly wasted trying to fight off the said thoughts of Friday and his annoying coworker.

Unfortunately for Guan Shan, his rest is short-lived as his stomach growls hungrily for food 15 minutes later. Groaning, he struggles to open his eyes and get to his feet, stabling himself before making his way to the too-small kitchen of his rental apartment. To his dismay, the ingredients he manages to find do not amount for a proper meal to satiate his hunger. Checking for his wallet, he finds a couple of spare change he scrimped from the week. He takes a glance at his wall clock,  _ “1:45pm”.  _ Good, he still has time - the nearest grocery mart that is a 10-minute brisk walk away from him would be starting their monthly clearance sale at 2pm. Additionally, if his friend is having his shift now, he should be able to get the box of unwanted produce. That should be able to stretch the spare change and get him a week’s worth of groceries. Taking a glance at his standing mirror to make sure that his home clothes are decent enough for a quick grocery run, he nods to himself before heading for the door.

“Zhan Xixi, wait for me~” Guan Shan overhears someone whining as he sees at his periphery, a blonde-haired man following the brunette in front of him, seemingly paying no mind. He grimaces to himself - the crowd today is way more than what he is normally used to. Attempting to get away from the cluster of people at the front picking and marvelling over discounted soon-to-be mouldy strawberries that look perfectly fine to the untrained eye, he looks at the shopping list he quickly jotted down on his phone while walking to the mart and heads towards the meat section first.

Once he manages to get what he needs, Guan Shan tries to look for his friend whom he bonded with during neighbourhood basketball sessions. Once spotting the man with a buzzcut busy restocking shelves of products, Guan Shan walks over and taps on his shoulder, “Hey, Cun Tou.”

“Brother Mo! Here you are! The box is kept over there!” The man gives him a friendly smile and points in a general direction towards the back of the ailes.

Nodding in appreciation, he heads towards the back of the store and eventually to the staff lounge where shoppers are typically not allowed to enter, with workers in their break eyeing him warily. Ignoring their apprehensive staring at his resting bitch face, he introduces himself to Cun Tou’s colleagues before they can ask him to leave, “I am Guan Shan, Cun Tou’s friend. I heard that he saved a box of unwanted produce for me, can I pick it up?” 

One of them visibly relaxes as she walks to the side of the room to pick up a cardboard box full of weirdly shaped vegetables, opened packages and leftover snacks. “I see! Here you go!”

“Thanks,” he says appreciatively upon receiving the box, placing it at the bottom of the cart and making his way to checkout.

To his annoyance, when he reaches the checkout, Guan Shan realises he is the very last person in the long line. To help himself pass the time, Guan Shan decides to distract himself by musing over how nouveau riche city dwellers can be so obsessed with finding a good deal, but turn their noses away at any minor and insignificant aesthetical flaw. The fact that the box of items was almost about to be thrown away because they look “too ugly” for consumption is still a wild concept for Guan Shan to grapple with, even after settling in the city 8 months ago. His mind is further blown as he recalls how at the start of the year, he and his parents were eating and serving the same “ugly vegetables” to customers at their family restaurant back home.

Just as he pushes his cart forward while humming in amusement over his mental observation, a familiar voice breaks his train of thoughts, “what’s so funny, Little Mo?”

Startled, Guan Shan turns around, only to realise that he is queuing up side by side with the last person he wishes to see anywhere outside of work. When did he join the line?! Despite blinking several times believing that his eyes are playing tricks on him, He Tian is right there, holding a tube of toothpaste, smiling at him. The latter is also wearing a black fitted tee that exposes his unfairly toned arms, and an equally fitted black pair of jeans that hug him in all the right places. Somehow, the fact that He Tian is in casual non workwear both flusters and pisses Guan Shan off. Who the hell even wears jeans to a grocery run, and why does he look so good in it?!

Shit, Guan Shan can feel the same nervous feeling rushing back. He has to act, and fast. Attempting to recompose himself, he nervously sputters out, “nothing, chicken dick!” 

Quickly, he averts his gaze away, desperately looking anywhere besides that bastard. While doing so, he accidentally looks down and cringes upon seeing what he is wearing - an old oversized t-shirt he got from his uncle, and basketball shorts. The difference cannot be any greater than night and day.

Feeling even more awkward and self-conscious, Guan Shan attempts to redirect the topic, “you only come out to buy toothpaste?”

Meanwhile, He Tian is glad to have run out of toothpaste, for he is more than happy to have the opportunity to meet Guan Shan and be entertained by his colleague’s reactions. The other’s insults are particularly funnier this time around given how the oversized shirt lowers the level of threat he is trying to display. 

“Well, since you promise to treat me, a toothpaste is enough isn’t it?” He Tian asks playfully, looking at the number of items the redhead is having in his cart. 

“Wha-”

“You pick the box of vegetables and beef so you can cook vegetable beef stir fry for me, isn’t it? How do you even know that’s my favourite? You’re so sweet Little Mo~” He Tian emphasises at the nickname while his mouth curves up into a shit-eating grin. 

Images of him cooking for He Tian floods his consciousness, causing Guan Shan to feel both disturbed and somewhat intrigued. “No, I am not! Go make your own meals chicken dick!” He says as calmly and assertively as he could, turning back to look ahead while he hears He Tian laughing at the back.

Honestly, to hell with the past him for not stocking up food; to hell with the grocery mart and its long lines; and most of all, to hell with He Tian and his irritating melodious laughter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, thank you for reading this chapter! I wanted to use this chapter to show what Guan Shan's day to day living mostly looks like, so do leave me a feedback telling me what you think!
> 
> Also, I do plan to incorporate Zhan Zheng Xi/Jian Yi and Cun Tou more in the future. I just haven't tag them yet since they only played a small part in this chapter.
> 
> After this week, I may not have much time to update as fast and frequent due to school. I do plan to use this down time to do more research and elaborate on the occupations of He Tian and Guan Shan, further develop direction of the plotline and practice writing from He Tian's perspective more. If you do want to reach me to talk more about Tianshan, I am available on [my Tumblr](https://handthigh.tumblr.com/tagged/tianshan) and the [Tianshan discord](https://discord.com/invite/Q8a2RRd).


	3. Beef or chicken?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beef and vegetable stir-fry for the soul 
> 
> P.S.: yes, the title is in reference to one of my favourite animes, Pop Team Epic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi y'all! Here's a new chapter after a long break, which I apologise for as school has been rather busy and hectic that I just crash into my bed the moment it's over :( I hope I haven't been making you guys wait for too long, and I am really happy to see so many of you enjoying this work, even having 100+ kudos?! I plan on making a special chapter (see end notes for more details) as a way to express my gratitude and to celebrate the [latest chapter release of 19 days](https://urs-bi-polar.tumblr.com/post/631686267922415616/by-old%E5%85%88)! Okay I shall not ramble anymore and let you guys read the chapter!
> 
> P.S.: Apologies if there is any grammatical error here, I wrote this in a groggy state as my mind seek to take a break from school.

Some rely on using a physical calendar to tell time, while others on the fancy new technological widgets that you can customise on smartphones. Guan Shan, however, tracks time by seeing how many produce left in his kitchen from last week, and there is not much from just a brief glance at his kitchen.

The past week has been a blur - a mundane and yet hectic blur where he mostly reads emails, reply to emails, write reports, attend meetings and his most hated task of them all - working on spreadsheets. He swears that spreadsheets and their tiny rows and columns serve no purpose except to strain his eyes, test his patience and be a nuisance overall. Thankfully, the food he has prepared from the grocery serves as a reliable comfort, especially on days like these when he misses home.

His colleagues are not faring better either, as his department for the past week mostly consists of keyboards clacking, doors clicking open for what seems like every five minutes for those on toilet or smoke breaks, and even groans that sound like whoever is making them requires medical attention every now and then. While he brings homemade food from home, his colleagues choose to order takeouts. This is accompanied with excited chatter over what new food to try for “research” as they pool in their orders for free delivery. It makes sense actually, seeing that they are all from the Research and Development department for a food product company. 

As Guan Shan looks at his leftovers of beef and vegetable, it seems as though He Tian does enjoy beef and vegetable stir fry, seeing that this has been the same order he places for three days in a row - not that Guan Shan is taking notes or anything. He just happens to overhear what his seatmate has said after the girls have been shyly approaching his cubicle to ask what the latter wants for lunch, that’s all. It also seems as though he is not immune to work after all, as He Tian’s eyebags are getting more prominent and his fringe getting longer, both of which are making people around the office swoon even more over how “rugged” he looks and how they just want to take care of him whenever he returns a friendly but tired smile at their greetings - again, none of which Guan Shan cares about or want to know further, or at least that is what he tells himself. 

Sighing, he thinks back to the exchange they had at the supermarket last week, and how He Tian has not been going out of his way to bother and talk to him for the past few days as they are both too busy trying to finish the tasks their supervisor has been constantly raining on them. He should be grateful for some peace and quiet - and he is, but somehow the lack of interactions is making him antsy for some reason. Damn it, the only possible explanation is due to work distorting his thoughts, for he refuses to even entertain the possibility of coming to enjoy and somewhat missing the interaction.

As he checks if he needs to throw out any stale ingredients, it seems as if they are all fine. He supposes he should maybe make beef and vegetable stir fry after all, as he is a man of his words and should honour his promise he made over WeChat. 

Once he has gathered the ingredients and tools, Guan Shan starts with cutting the beef in diagonal strips, so as to ensure no chewy or tough muscle fibres. He then prepares the marinade with whatever he can find lying around the kitchen - soy sauce, shaoxing wine, crushed garlic, and a dash of salt and pepper; before adding cornstarch to the mixture for velveting. The beef is then mixed by hand to ensure an even coating of marinade before it is set aside to let the marinade tenderise the beef even further.

Using the waiting time to multitask, he proceeds to work on the already washed vegetables - cutting the bell peppers into strips, broccoli florets off the stem, soaking the wood ear mushrooms and slicing the aromatics of dried chillies and ginger. 

Setting his tools, he leaves the pan to preheat in medium heat on one side of the electric conductor before boiling the pot of salted water on another side of the conductor so that he can parboil the prepared vegetables. Just as he is done prepping the vegetables by retrieving them from the boiling water after one minute, the pan has been sufficiently heated up to prepare for stir frying.

Setting the heat to high, he adds the cooking oil and spreads it around the pan to ensure even coating. Once the oil turns hot, Guan Shan adds in the aromatics before adding the beef, making sure the meat is spreaded around the pan so that as many slices have contact with the pan. Once one side of the beef has been sufficiently seared, he adds the vegetables, making sure to simultaneously spread the ingredients around his spatula and push the pan back and forth so that everything can be cooked evenly.

Now to add the star ingredient - the stir fry sauce. Growing up in a family who runs a restaurant business, Guan Shan believes that anything personally made is better than store bought, which is why he favours the sauce his parents make over the factory packaged bottles commonly seen in supermarkets. Luckily for him, there is still the remaining amount of sauce his parents have mailed to him about a month ago. Lowering the heat to medium, he adds the sauce to the mixture and let them simmer for a few minutes, before turning off the conductor and letting the dish cool so it can be packed into a lunch box for tomorrow. 

It is now the next morning and he is having cold feet as he enters the office, making sure to arrive 30 minutes earlier than the usual reporting time so that no one can see him dropping off the dish on He Tian’s desk. Looking around to make sure no one is in the vicinity, he quickly scribbles a note and tosses it into a paper bag that he uses to put the lunch box in, leaving the package on his desk and quickly returning to his own. Even though he knows that his intentions are purely platonic, Guan Shan still cannot help but feel nervous and slightly embarrassed about it, as cooking for someone outside of family free of charge is a rather intimate gesture. To distract himself so he can calm his nerves, he opens up his laptop and continues working from where he has last left off. That somewhat helps a little, until he hears the door clicking open 20 minutes later.

He Tian arrives at the office feeling even more drained than ever, for both work and personal reasons. His elder brother He Cheng has showed up to Chengdu unannounced yesterday evening and requests to have a “brotherly bonding dinner”, claiming that his arrival is purely for a business trip and not to persuade He Tian back into working for the family company. That is of course a lie. 

Ever since he has told their father that he does not want to become the leader of the company and has already accepted a job offer outside of Shanghai, the family dynamic only further tenses as their already authoritative and strict father promptly stop financially supporting He Tian, in part due to anger at the perceived betrayal but also in part believing that He Tian will not be able to survive without his help and has no choice but to return to the company. He couldn’t be more wrong, however, as He Tian has started saving and investing to become financially independent the moment he knows of his father’s plans during his freshman year in university. While he is grateful that He Cheng has not revealed this to their father, He Tian also understands his difficulty of having to play the middleman, and is hence not surprised when throughout the dinner he only talks about work related topics. 

Sighing at the memory, he walks over to his cubicle only to notice a paper bag on his desk, and Guan Shan already at the office before him. Curiously, he peers into the bag only to see a box of vegetable and beef stir fry, with a note that reads,

_Reheat this in the microwave at medium-high for 3 minutes. Once you are done, wash the box and return to me._

Chuckling, he peers over to his seatmate, who is currently actively avoiding eye contact by glaring at his laptop screen and sporting what seems like a blush across his cheeks.

“Thank you Little Mo~”

“If you tell anyone about this, I will kill you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for being so patient and reading this new chapter! I hope I did Guan Shan's cooking justice without sounding too rambly lol. As I have plans on elaborating on the day to day workload task of Guan Shan and He Tian and the development of their characters, do let me know if there is any areas for improvements!
> 
> As for the special chapter, I do have some ideas such as a chapter on virtual work meeting to be in light of the current pandemic, but those did not go very far as I plan them out in my head. So I figured it may be better to obtain suggestions from you guys instead - do you want more Tianshan? Or a Zhanyi chapter? Or a shitposting crack chapter that includes all the Wattpad tropes? Let me know and I'll try to deliver to the best of my abilities lol.
> 
> P.S.: the beef and vegetable stir fry recipe featured in this chapter is referenced from [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3RK0WhUb1s) and [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUmy4B_AY2c)


	4. Beef (bonus chapter)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a bonus chapter, sequel to chapter 3 because it was getting too long lmao

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As the summary suggests, I have some ideas for this fic that I really want to execute but am not able to because they don't necessarily flow with the chapters, so this is one of the attempt at doing so, omake style!

_CLACK CLACK CLACK_

“... Guan Shan seems really pissed off.” 

“Isn’t it the same as usual?”

“Yeah, don’t make eye contact with him, he might just snap your neck.”

Despite the loud typing, he can still hear the nervous whisperings of his colleagues as they actively try to avoid passing by his cubicle. The redhead’s scowl deepens as fury further emits from his entire being. Yes, he is pissed off, so much so that he doesn’t bother hiding it or correcting his colleagues’ impressions of him. While it is not his fault that he is born with a resting bitch face which makes people in the office think that he is secretly running an extortion business and eats cats for fun - which are all ridiculous rumours by the way; the anger he feels right now is definitely the chicken dick’s fault.

_Lunchtime comes around and Guan Shan is just preparing to reheat the food he prepared from home at the pantry. Taking a sip of water from his cup, he notices the same group of girls from last week nervously walking over to He Tian’s desk, arguing with and hiding behind one another over who should be the one to talk to him. “Here we go again,” he thinks to himself._

_Finally, a girl got pushed forward and He Tian stands up and turns towards them, pretending to not have noticed the commotion. Wearing a polite smile, he asks, “yes, how can I help you?”_

_“Ah! Um, we are just wondering if you want to come to lunch with us because you seem really down in the morning and we thought that maybe you can join us and maybe that can help you feel better and we will treat you to beef and vegetable stir fry this time and…” she nervously rambles on and on as she twiddles her thumbs and look down on the floor, her face getting redder with every word._

_“Oh, I’m sorry I can’t join you ladies today.”_

_Almost immediately, her head snaps up, disappointment visible in her face. “Ah! It’s okay… um, may I know why though?”_

_“Someone special has already cooked me stir fry~” He Tian declares proudly, flashing a radiant smile and seeming almost too elated about it._

_Guan Shan chokes on his drink as he hurriedly flees the scene, almost tripping over himself as he does so._

Fuck, just thinking about that incident only makes him angrier and more embarrassed. His typing is getting even louder, as he takes it out on his poor innocent laptop while simultaneously trying to distract himself by working on the task assigned to him. This continued for 5 minutes until a notification from his WeChat saying an image file has been send from He Tian to him manages to put a stop in his tracks.

Just what the hell does that jerk want again? Rolling his eyes, he opens the message, only to see his facial expression 5 minutes ago being superimposed onto an orange hamster’s body:

**He Tian (Work):**

_You look just like this lolol (2:30pm)_

**Me:**

_FUCK OFF! I hate you so much. Delete that picture you creep! (2:31pm)_

Just as he sends that reply, he can hear He Tian trying to laugh as quietly as possible, unashamed at his actions. This only riles Guan Shan even further, as he furiously changes He Tian’s contact in his phone to match how he is currently feeling.

_Contact “He Tian (Work)” has been changed to “Chicken Dick”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're wondering whether I took a stock image of a hamster and Gimped the official artwork of chibi Guan Shan's face over it just for this chapter, yes. Yes I did.


	5. Does not commute

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Guan Shan does not know how to dress for cold weather and encounters a familiar face on the way to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my it's been awhile huh :') I hope you guys have been doing well! I'm so grateful for your patience and I'm sorry for the lack of update for 1.5 months, the final 2 months of semester has been brutal :'( Not to mention the crazy week with regards to the latest 19 Days chapter huh hurhur (if you are interested in what I have to think, [here's an attempted literary critique I wrote lmao](https://handthigh.tumblr.com/post/635560146245976064/yet-another-19-days-discourse-nobody-asks-for))
> 
> Exams are finally over (didn't finish the whole paper but ugh! Whatever) and so I'll hopefully have more time for my thesis and AO3 as well. WRT this fanfic, I do have a major arc planning and I hope to map them out by next year hurhur. 
> 
> ANYWAYS, enough of my ramblings. I hope you will enjoy this chapter!

On a normal day, it takes at least 3 alarms on his phone for Guan Shan to wake up from his slumber and get ready for work. However, today is not a normal day. In fact, it is an uncharacteristically cold November day, with strong winds travelling downwards from the north. Thus, all it takes is a gust of harsh north wind for him to rouse from his sleep and put on a hoodie, as he gingerly steps on the cold floor and heads for his bathroom in short quick steps for a warm respite.

Shivering, he prepares the shower heater and brushes his teeth while waiting for the former to get ready, jogging on the spot in a futile attempt to remain warm. Perhaps trying to save rent money and not investing in a heater is one of the stupidest things he has done, besides not packing a puffer jacket with him when he moved to Chengdu in the summer in order to “save luggage space”. 

Shaking these thoughts away, he hurriedly rinses his mouth and changes out to hop into the shower, welcoming the warmth of clean water. Until his current financial standing stabilises, buying a heater will just be a pipedream. For now, he can make do by stretching the wear out of his 3 hoodies and a fleece jacket, coupled with warm showers here and there. At least, that’s what he tells himself. 

Reluctantly, he turns off the shower and hurriedly dries himself before changing into his work clothes. Guan Shan cannot afford to stay in the shower for any longer unless he wants to spike his cortisol levels when he sees the water and electricity bill next month. Putting on a fleece jacket, he heads for the door, not wishing to stay in the “igloo” for any longer than he needs to.

This proves to be a huge mistake however, as another gust of wind grazes past his cheeks the moment he steps out of his apartment lobby. Damn it, isn’t it still the autumn? Since when has November become so cold?! Granted, it is nearing December and the winter, but still, this temperature change has to be due to climate change or something, for it  _ cannot  _ possibly be due to him being ill prepared for the colder months when he was moving, nor his stubbornness and overestimation of his own abilities at withstanding the cold. Nope.    
  


If he does not want to freeze on the spot, he has to move, and fast. Picking up his feet, he begins jogging towards the metro train station which is a 1km walking distance away from his place. Afterwards, he will have to take a Blue Line train and travel for 5 stops before reaching another station that is 500m walking distance away from his workplace. Judging by the lack of usual crowds on the sidewalks and higher number of cars on the road, it appears that he is not the only one affected by the cold as well, as many have chosen to commute privately to be away from the cold. 

Sighing, he wonders enviously if his coworkers are eating their warm and filling breakfast before getting into their cars that will protect them from the cold, cruel world. Perhaps, they may even be leisurely cruising along the road admiring the yellowing, falling leaves. All these certainly seem like something Chicken Dick would do.

Okay, he seriously needs to stop allowing  _ that person _ from wandering into his mind’s eye as and when he likes! Just because He Tian complimented the beef and vegetable stir fry like it is the best thing since sandwiches? Nothing is better than his parents and sandwiches! Guan Shan swears he must be losing his mind. Also, to make it clear, he is not flattered by the praise at all.

Thankfully, he can start to see the stairs towards the metro station. This somewhat energises him as he speeds up slightly towards his destination, relieved that he can now shift his thoughts to something else. In his hurry towards the tap-and-go machines, he fails to see what is happening in front of him.

Then, a bump.

“Sorry!” He yells apologetically and tries to maneuver around the obstacle until something, or someone rather, stops him dead in his tracks.

“So eager to run into my embrace?”

Oh no. This cannot be. He refuses to believe it until he sees it. Cautiously, he turns his head around, dread building within him.

Despite wanting to believe that his eyes are playing tricks on him, He Tian is right there, in all his trench coat wearing glory, with an amused smirk on his face. Just his luck. Just his gosh darn diggity luck.

“What the hell are you doing here?!”

He Tian has the audacity to pout in feigned hurt. “So mean Little Mo~ can’t I go to work with my best friend?”

Oh god, Guan Shan can feel his headache coming on. Turning around, he heads for the escalator that will bring him up to the Blue Line. In spite of himself, he replies aloud, “Ugh, that’s so creepy. Have you been stalking me?”

A laughter comes from behind. 

“Alright, alright. The truth is, my car is currently undergoing maintenance and so I’m taking the train for now. Seeing that you’re here, I’m presuming you live near this area?”

They have now reached the open aired train arrival platform, standing side by side. Damn his observant ass. 

“....”

“Oh? So I’m right~?”

Before he can retort to He Tian’s smug remark, a gentle breeze tickled his nose, causing Guan Shan to sneeze violently.

Wow, that was graceful.

Muttering apologies, he rummages through his backpack for a packet of tissue paper to catch the mucus that threatens to spillover, while trying to reassure his concerned colleague that he is fine.

“You’re only wearing a fleece jacket? Are you sure that’s enough?”

Now just where in the hell is the tissue packet? 

“Yes, I’m fine,” finally finding the packet, his reassurance is being muffled by the sound of him blowing his nose.

As Guan Shan is busy zipping his backpack and putting the tissue packet in his jacket pocket, he suddenly freezes when he feels a warm cloth around his neck. 

Looking up, he finds himself making direct eye contact with He Tian, who has taken off his scarf and is currently wrapping it around him instead.

Nervously, he fidgets, “W-wait! What are you doing?”

The raven haired pauses his task and looks at Guan Shan with mild annoyance, “You’re clearly not fine because you’re clearly wearing too little for the weather. Don’t give me that look, you know it’s true. Also, stop fidgeting or I’m going to smack you in the head.”

Uncomfortable and taken aback by the sudden closeness and his colleague’s shift in tone, any form of retort instantly dies in his throat. 

And so he stays still, trying to focus his mind on anywhere else besides his coworker’s eyes boring through him, his long and slender fingers occasionally brushing his neck, or the faint smell of sandalwood and tobacco lingering on the scarf.

“There,” He Tian declares proudly, patting Guan Shan’s by the shoulders, “you should be warm by now. Also, don’t return it to me, you seem to need it more than I do.” 

The train arrives just as he finishes speaking.

Silence accompanied them through the whole commute as they both board and alight the train, walking side by side to the workplace. The prior contact at the platform keeps replaying in Guan Shan’s head the whole time, thankful that there have not been many people to notice the exchange.

It seems like he really needs another puffer jacket after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are reading this, thank you for reading the chapter! I apologise in advanced if there's any rustiness or basic grammar mistakes in my writing as it's been awhile since I practiced writing creatively. 
> 
> While I'm currently thinking of how to structure the plot such that I can weave in the major arc into the fic, I'm also open to feedbacks and ideas! Personally, an author trap that I seem to struggle with is I'm concerned my chapters can come across as repetitive due to wanting to be as true to the slice-of-life genre and trying to translate and reinterpret (plausible) real life events into this work. I'm open to trying most tips and tricks to the best of my abilities hurhur.


	6. Author update

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Update on where I've been

Hello, this is handthigh. I'm sorry if this is not the chapter you were hoping to read. I just want to post on here to say that I have not forgotten about this fic, nor you guys and I'm really sorry for the lack of update despite having promised to do so. It is not right of me to get any of your hopes up and I cannot apologise enough :') This "chapter" is more of an update about what I'm up to (which will undoubtedly affect the progression of this fic), and future plans for this fic.

I think you guys have the right to know what I've been up to. As you may know, I have mentioned a couple of times in author's notes of each chapter that I'm in my final semester of university, trying to get my grades up while finishing up my thesis inside a science lab at the same time. Well, recently on top of that, I'm trying to find a job after graduating, and this recession has not made it any easier. All these resulted in me feeling really burnt out and not having the energy to translate my thoughts into words, as I'm either rushing to finish my assignments, lectures, or not be in the mood to write. Hence, I dare not promise anything until I have either graduated, or confident enough with my academic progress to afford the time to update this fic. Ideally, I hope to be able to graduate with the grades I want and start working full-time, so that I can finally have the weekends to myself in order to continue writing the chapters for this fic. I really love writing about TianShan and ZhanYi as well as reading the comments, knowing that there are others who appreciate not only my writing but also the four boys as well. 

As for the major arc promised in the last chapter, I definitely still have it planned in mind! I'm too invested to give it up, and I hope by the time I write it, you guys will love it too. However, I do want to write something in return as well. So if you guys have any specific headcanons or ideas in mind you want to see it happen to the boys in this fic, do let me know and I will try to write it to the best of my abilities, either as a special chapter or totally separated from this fic.

Sorry for the long text as I'm trying to be as comprehensive as possible! Once again, I just want to thank you guys for the support and kudos I'm still receiving despite the unannounced hiatus, and also apologize if I have brought anybody's hopes up with my promise in the previous chapter. I cannot be more grateful for the warm welcome and love I've been receiving from such a wholesome community and I hope to get back soon. 🥺💖 

PS: I hope you guys have had a good 2021 so far, despite all the madness! If not, I really feel you and you're not alone. I'll be rooting for you all!

💖💖💖,

handthigh


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